Gas-engine electric igniter.



PATENTED DEC. 8,1903.

G. RATHBUN. GAS ENGINE ELEOTBIQIGNITER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1908. V

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

K0 MODEL.

ll |O."ll| Ill ww rw W'ITNVESSES:

m GM PATENTED DEC. 8, 1908 G. RATHBUN.

GAS ENGINE ELECTRIC IGNITBR.'

APPLICATION mum mu 1; mos.

2 sums-311121112.

H0 IODEL.

WITNESS'ESL :fired by the electric spark.

UNITED STATES Patented December 8, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE J. RATHBUN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 746,377, dated December 8, 1903.

Application filed May 1, 1903. Serial No. 156,110. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- 7

Be it known that I, GEORGE J. RATHBUN, a citizen of the United States, residing at T0- ledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Engine Electric Igniters; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable Others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the .same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

In internal-combustion engines the most common method of governing is to out out impulses. hit-and-miss regulation and is economical and entirely satisfactory for ordinary power purposes. When, however, it isdesired to operate an electric-light generator, particularly if direct connected, the hit-and-miss method allows too large a variation in the speed, and it becomes desirable to govern by varying the strength .of the impulses. This is generally done by throttling the entering combustible mixture.

In an internal combustion engine it is desirable and necessary for economy that the combustion of the mixture should be complete very near the beginning of the working stroke; otherwise the expansion of the hot working fluid is not as complete as it might be and heat is Wasted through the exhaust. In engines of this class the mixture is usually In order that the combustion shall be completed as indicated above, the igniter must be set so as to make a spark in advance, as the inflammation takes an appreciable amount of time for its co1npletion. This time depends upon thetemperature and richness of the mass of combustible mixture, and its temperature de-. pends upon the compression-pressure at point of ignition. With a throttling-engine this compression-pressure decreases with the load, due to the fact that the volume of mixture is decreased, but the clearance-space is not changed. It therefore follows that to obtain the best results more time should be allowed This is generally known as the.

tion relates to means for controlling this ignition-point automatically to suit each mixture by means of the governor.

The object of my invention is to cause a large saving in gas when the engine is operating on light loads, which is very important, as electric generators must often run one-half or two-thirds of the time at one-third or onequarter load. I attain these objects by means of the devices and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and shown and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of an upright two-cylinder engine having a chamber for the valve-gearsand regulating mechanism with the cover of the chamber removed to show the arrangement of parts hereinafter referred to. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in central vertical section, showing an end view of the shaft carrying the igniter-cam, the rod which actuates the igniter, and the member interposedbetween the cam and the igniterrod for automatically varying theupoint at which theigniter-rod is actuated to operate the igniter, as hereinafter specified; Fig. 3, a top plan view of the same; Fig. 4, a diagrammatic top plan View of the igniter-shaft and its cam, hereinafter referred to, and the vari-;

able contact-breaker, hereinafter referred to, illustrating the breaker disposed in difierent positions in relation to its cam; and Fig. 5, a perspective View of said variable contactbreaker detached.

' Like letters and numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

For illustration I have shown in the accompanying' drawings a double upright gas-engi'ne, in which the cylinders A are mounted upon a crank-caseB, there being at one side of the crank-case a case 0 for the valve-gear mechanism and the governor. In Fig. l the cover of the latter case is removed to show the arrangement of the parts.

1 isa shaft journaled in brackets 1*", secured to the frame of the engine, carrying a gear-wheel 2, engaged anddriven by a twoto-one gear-Wheel onthe crank-shaft of the engine. On the shaft 1 are cams 1", arranged to actuate rods 1, which control the admission-valves and the exhaust-valves of the'engine. On this shaft is also a beveled gearwheel 3, which engages and drives a beveled frame of the engine, as at 12.

pinion 4 on the lower end of a governor-shaft 5. On this shaft is mounted a governor 6. The governor is connected with and is adapted and arranged to actuate and control rod 7, which regulates the supply of the explosive mixture to they engine. As this feature of the engine constitutes no part of the present invention, it will not be further described, it being understood that any means for regulating the supply of explosive mixture to the engine may be employed.

, 8 is a' sleeve on the governor-shaft, movable longitudinally upon the shaft with the rise and fall of the governor-balls. On this sleeve are two circumferential flanges 9, between which travels a roller 10, mounted on one extremity of a bell-crank lever 11, fulcrumed on the The opposite end of the bell-crank lever engages loosely a block 13,having a screw-threaded opening engaged by a threaded sleeve 14 on rod 15. The sleeve 14 is provided with a set-screw and is movable on the rod 15. By means of the adjustment of the sleeve and of the block 13 accurate adjustment of the rod 15 in relation to the bell-crank lever may be obtained.

The rod 15 is supported in bearings l on brackets 1 and is movable longitudinally in these bearings. The longitudinal movement .of the rod 15 is effected by the throw of the bell-crank lever 11 and the movement of the governor mechanism.

On the shaft 1 is a cam 16, which at each rotation of the shaft is designed to actuate the igniting mechanism of the engine. 17 is a rod commonly known as a hammer connected with and which controls the igniter or sparking mechanism of the engine. On the rod 15 is a sleeve 18, from which project arms or rods 19. (See Figs. 2 and 3.) On the rod 15 are collars 18, provided with set-screws 18 18". These set-collars 18", one at each end of the sleeve 18, are rigidly secured to the shaft by means of their set-screws, and the rod 15 forms a pivot upon which the sleeve 18 and its arms 19 may oscillate or swing between the two set-collars.

20 is a plate or block having therethrough two holes 21, through which pass the arms 19, which form a support for the plate 20. The plate is pressed normally toward the sleeve 18 on the shaft 15 by means of springs 22, the plate resting normally against shoulders 23 on the arms 19. The side of the plate 20 nearest the shaft 1 lies in the path of the cam 16, and

the projecting portion of the cam at each revolution comes in contact with the face of the plate 20. This face of the plate 20 is formed with a ledge or margin 20, disposed at an angle to the two sides of the'plate in such fashion that when the plate is moved with the rod 15 parallel with the shaft 1 the cam 16 will leave the contacting surface of the plate at different points in the rotation of the shaft 1. The point 16 at which the contacting surface of the cam 16 and the angular portion of the contacting plate leave each other is formed on from an inspection of the drawings that when the engine is running at light load the governor-balls will move the rod 15, carrying with it the sleeve 18 and the plate 20, so that the cam 16 will leave the angular contacting face of the plate 20 almost immediately after the plate is raised by the cam, thus securing an early ignition of the explosive charge. As the load increases and as the speed decreases the plate 20 moves parallel with the shaft 1,bring-' ing the wider contacting portion of the plate 20 into the path of the cam 16, thus securing a later ignition, the time of ignition being eX- actly in harmony with the relative positions of the cam 16 and the angular contacting por-' tion of the plate 20. The face of the angular margin 20 is beveled inwardly, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, so that when the cam leaves the sharp edge of the beveled surface 20 the plate will drop freely and instantly. In case from any cause the engine is turned in the wrong direction the square end of the cam 16 comes in contact with the plate 20, which would be broken or torn from its mountings were it not for the extended arms 19 and the springs 22, which permit the plate to slide on the arms before the cam until the cam has passed beyond the plate, when the springs restore the plate to its proper position. Thus it will be seen that no accident can be caused by accidentally turning the engine in the wrong way.

I provide for the adjustment of'ithe ignitionpoint as follows: One end of the rod 15 is flattened, as at 15, (see Fig. 1,) and rests between the jaws 15 upon the end of a threaded bolt 15, which passes through an aperture in cap 15, secured to the end of the case 0. The outer extremity of the bolt 15 is formed, as at 15, to receive awrench. On the outwardlyprojecting portion of the bolt 15 is a jam-nut 15 by means of which the bolt is rigidly secured in adjusted position. The j am-nut being loosened and a wrench being placed upon the head of the bolt 15 the rod 15'may be turned, carrying with it its threaded sleeve 14. As the rod 15 is turned it is moved longitudinally in the desired direction by means of the screw-threads on the sleeve let and in the block 13, which block is secured to the lower end of the bell-crank lever 11. Thus the position of the angle-plate 20 in relation to the cam 16 and in relation to the governor may be adjusted and controlled from outside the casing of the engine and without stopping the engine.

While I have shown the plate 20 (interposed between the cam and the rod 17) connected with and controlled by the governor, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that if the cam were caused by the governor to move on its shaft and to thus change its relation to the plate 20 the effect upon the time of ignition would be the same. For this reason I do not limit this part of my invention to the exact details-of construction here described.

Having described my invention and its operation, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.-In an engine of the described class, a governor, an igniter-controlling member, a cam, a plate in the path of the cam and operatively engaged with the igniter-controlling member, a rod upon which the plate is pivotally supported, connections between the rod and the governor by which the 'rod is moved longitudinally in harmony with the movement of the governor, and an angular contact-face upon said plate adapted and arranged to engage said cam at each revolution.

2. In an engine of the described class, a governor, an igniter-controlling member, a cam, a plate in the path of the cam, and operatively engaged with the igniter-controlling member; a rod upon which the plate is pivoted, connections between the rod and the governor by which the rod moves longitudinally in harmony with the movement of the governor, an angular contact-face upon said plate adapted and arranged to engage said cam at each revolution, and means for the lateral adjustment of the plate.

In an engine of the described class, a governor, a longitudinally-movable rod, an axially-movable sleeve on the rod, arms on the sleeve, a plate mounted to reciprocate on said arms, said plate having an angular contacting surface, a cam which engages said contacting surface at each revolution, an ignition-controlling member which is actuated by said plate, and a governor which controls the 5. In an engine of the described class, a

plate, an igniter-controlling member operatively engaged with the plate, a cam which actuatcs said plate, supports for the plate which permit the plate to swing outwardly away from the cam when the cam moves in its normal direction and which permits the plate to move before the cam laterally when the motion of the cam is reversed.

6. In an engine of the described class, a governor, a longitudinally-movable rod connected with the governor, an igniter-control-' ling member, a cam, means upon the rod interposed between the ignitercontrolling member and the cam for actuating said memher, and means for adjusting the rod in relation to the governor.

7. In an engine of the described class, a

governor, a longitudinally-movable rod, a

threaded sleeve upon the rod, a nut on the threaded sleeve, a bell-crank lever having one end connected with the governor, its other end being engaged with said nut, means for turning said rod and its sleeve axially, combined with means controlled by said rod for varying the ignition-point of the engine.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE J. RATHBUN.

Witnesses:

R. F. SWIGART, S. A. DORLAND. 

